The Light in Her Eyes
by revelationsinrevenge
Summary: Drabble Prompt: [Elijah talks a dejected Elena into helping him decorate for the holidays.] Uploaded from Tumblr. - Expanded


_A/N: Edited some minor errors I overlooked in the beginning. _

The situation brought a wry, sad, smile to his lips. Her long brown locks were strewn carelessly over the back of the lounge chair as she carefully traces patterns on the window. An echoing quiet silence has settled over the house, the fire providing gentle warmth in the background and the gentle flicker of flames seems to be the only other movement in the surroundings. Silent steps bring him to her side, and she glanced up, the barest flick of her brown, doe eyes in his direction, before they swiveled back to the glass, and her hand continued its lazy motions on the cool panes.

Elijah released a low sigh, and settled down into the chaise across hers. His face was a careful mask, but the smile has not quite left it. It lingered there, in the way he surveyed her, and the fact that he has allowed it to be this palpable was an indication of just how much he has found himself comfortable around her. He lifted his hand, the tinsel slipping down with the end of it held between his thumb and forefinger.

* * *

Her attention was caught, again, this time by the silvery material, and the small curve of her mouth returned because it is always amusing to see Elijah holding anything Christmas related, especially when he's wearing that suit. Who could ever imagine the Original being able to decorate? It's the little things she learns about him everyday that is so compelling, and she felt as if she's peeling back the layers, albeit at a slow pace, to discover more about who he is. Her mouth parted slightly, as if to say something, then she shook her head, as if thinking the better of it. She anticipated his question, however, reading those hazel eyes a secondary nature at this point.

"I miss them, Elijah," she whispered after several minutes, followed by a rustle as she tucked her feet under her body. Her mother, her father, Alaric, Jenna, even John, all people she can never get back, and the realization had slammed into her so rapidly, so intensely, that she retreated to the spot by the window hours ago. Even him, calm and reasonable, who she relied on more for comfort than she could imagine, was having a hard time wrestling her out of it.

* * *

"Elena," his voice was a gentle caress. Smooth, warm, and they scattered her thoughts momentarily. "Do you think they would want you to be dejected? On this, so I gather, the season to be merry?"

There is a faint curve of her lips, and he was comforted by the fact that the emotion, has reached her eyes, if only a little, but a swift sigh followed, and the light disappeared.

"It feels wrong. Why should we enjoy this when they can't? And they won't be able to." She tugged on her bottom lip between her teeth, her doe eyes peering at him beseechingly, and a conflicted expression appeared on her features.

He wondered if she has an inkling of how the simple action affected him, this tiny waif of a girl, 18 years young, yet has experienced what others can only imagine with horror, and she has the capability to let him feel emotions he has, for centuries, kept at a distance. Letting the tinsel slide to the floor, and he slid forward in his seat, his hand reaching and very gently, grasped one of her hands in his. His thumb slid over the back of her hands, an attempt at comfort, and there was a certain sense of hopelessness that his words would never be able to replace what she has lost, but he attempted nevertheless.

"I'm certain that all they wish for is for you to live, to experience what life is. Every one of their actions is borne out of love, for you. You won't disappoint them by being happy, Elena, but you may if you choose not to. No matter as a human, or as a vampire, you should learn to love, laugh, cry, everything that shapes your humanity, that shapes you."

When he finished, his lips quirked up again, as one hand comes up to brush away the tear tracks on her face. A small breath escaped her parted lips at the contact, and she gazed at him with an unidentified emotion, and briefly, he wondered if he has crossed a line he should not have. But that thought was swiftly erased as her hand reached up to hold his against her cheek, as very slowly, her face tilted into it.

* * *

The first thought that swung to the forefront of her mind is the coolness of his skin; the suddenness of the action seemed to come secondary to that. At the same time, a sudden comfort radiated through her. She reached for his hand, as she leaned into his touch. She's suddenly grateful that she invited him over in the first place, even though she has, in some ways, failed as a hostess. After all, she's the one who sank into this mood in the first place.

* * *

Gratified, he eventually pulled back, though one of his hands still remained intertwined with hers in her lap. He picked up the tinsel off the floor. "Now, I believe we have some business to attend to." She laughed, a bright, tinkling sound, before brushing away the remnants of the tears at the corners of her eyes and standing up, fishing the tinsel from his hand.

"Thank you," she murmured, and an inexplicable emotion flashed across her face, before she leaned forward to brush a soft kiss against his brow, and the movement was so sudden, so abrupt, he became still for a moment.

As she strolled away, humming under her breath, the only thought that crosses his mind is that the light has returned.


End file.
